Includes writing, telephoning or applying in person to an employer for work; answering an advertisement for a job; checking factory noticeboards or the touchscreens at Centrelink offices; being registered with Centrelink as a jobseeker; checking or registering with any other employment agency; advertising or tendering for work; and contacting friends or relatives.

Actual hours worked

The hours actually worked during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Adult employees

Adult employees are those employees 21 years of age or over and those employees who, although under 21 years of age, are paid at the full adult rate for their occupation. See 'Full-time adult ordinary time earnings'.

Attending full-time education

Persons aged 15-24 years who were enrolled full time at secondary school, high school, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college, university, or other educational institution in the reference week.

Average weekly hours worked

Aggregate hours worked by a group divided by the number of persons in that group. Aggregate hours refers to the total number of hours a group of employed persons has actually worked during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Carers

A person of any age who provides any informal assistance, in terms of help or supervision, to persons with disabilities or long-term conditions, or older persons (i.e. aged 60 years and over). This assistance has to be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months. Assistance to a person in a different household relates to 'everyday types of activities', without specific information on the activities. Where the care recipient lives in the same household, the assistance is for one or more of the following activities:

cognition or emotion

communication

health care

housework

meal preparation

mobility

paperwork

property maintenance

self care

transport.

Casual employees

Employees (excluding owner managers of incorporated enterprises) who are not entitled to both paid holiday and paid sick leave in their main job.

Civilian population aged 15 years and over

All usual residents of Australia aged 15 years and over except members of the permanent defence forces, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments customarily excluded from census and estimated population counts, overseas residents in Australia, and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

Communication

This activity comprises the following tasks: understanding family or friends; being understood by family or friends; understanding strangers; being understood by strangers.

Contributing family worker

A person who works without pay, in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

Core activities

Core activities are communication, mobility and self care.

Core-activity limitation

Four levels of core-activity limitation are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment with any of the core activities (communication, mobility or self care). A person's overall level of core-activity limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:

profound: the person is unable to do, or always needs help with, a core-activity task

severe: the person

sometimes needs help with a core-activity task

has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends

can communicate more easily using sign language or other non-spoken forms of communication.

moderate: the person needs no help but has difficulty with a core-activity task

mild: the person needs no help and has no difficulty with any of the core-activity tasks, but

uses aids and equipment

cannot easily walk 200 metres

cannot walk up and down stairs without a handrail

cannot easily bend to pick up an object from the floor

cannot use public transport

can use public transport but needs help or supervision

needs no help or supervision but has difficulty using public transport.

Couple families

A family based on two persons who are in a registered or de facto marriage and who are usually resident in the same household.

Disability

In the context of health experience, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. It denotes the negative aspects of the interaction between an individual (with a health condition) and that individual's contextual factors (environment and personal factors).

A person has a disability if they report that they have a limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts everyday activities. This includes:

loss of sight (not corrected by glasses or contact lenses)

loss of hearing where communication is restricted, or an aid to assist with, or substitute for, hearing is used

speech difficulties

shortness of breath or breathing difficulties causing restriction

chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort causing restriction

blackouts, fits, or loss of consciousness

difficulty learning or understanding

incomplete use of arms or fingers

difficulty gripping or holding things

incomplete use of feet or legs

nervous or emotional condition causing restriction

restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work

disfigurement or deformity

mental illness or condition requiring help or supervision

long-term effects of head injury, stroke or other brain damage causing restriction

receiving treatment or medication for any other long-term conditions or ailments and still restricted

any other long-term conditions resulting in a restriction.

Discouraged jobseekers

Persons with marginal attachment to the labour force who wanted to work and were available to start work within the next four weeks but whose main reason for not actively looking for work was that they believed they would not find a job for any of the following reasons:

considered to be too young by employers;

considered to be too old by employers;

lacked necessary schooling, training, skills or experience;

difficulties because of language or ethnic background;

no jobs in their locality or line of work;

no jobs available at all; and

no jobs in suitable hours.

Duration of unemployment

Duration of unemployment is the period of time from when an unemployed person began looking for work, until the end of the reference week; or the period of time since an unemployed person last worked in any job for two weeks or more, until the end of the reference week; whichever was the shorter period.

Prior to April 2001, duration of unemployment was defined in the LFS as the period of time from when an unemployed person began looking for work, until the end of the reference week; or the period of time since an unemployed person last worked full time for two weeks or more, until the end of the reference week; whichever was the shorter period.

Employed

Employed persons include all persons aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:

worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers); or

were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:

away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or

away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or

away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or

on strike or locked out; or

on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job; or

were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.

Employed full time

See full-time employed.

Employed part time

See part-time employed.

Employee

A person who works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee from their employer while working on a commission basis, tips, piece rates, or payment in kind, or a person who operates their own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees.

Employer

A person who operates their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees.

Employment to population ratio

For any group, the number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of the civilian population in the same group.

Employment restriction

An employment restriction is determined for persons aged 15-64 years with one or more disabilities living in households if, because of their disability, they:

are permanently unable to work

are restricted in the type of work they can, or could, do

need, or would need, at least one day a week off work on average

are restricted in the number of hours they can, or could, work

require, or would require, an employer to provide special equipment, modify the work environment or make special arrangements

require assistance from a disability job placement program or agency

need, or would need, to be given ongoing assistance or supervision

would find it difficult to change jobs or get a preferred job.

Extended labour force underutilisation rate

The unemployed, plus the underemployed, plus two groups who are marginally attached to the labour force:

(i)

persons actively looking for work, not available to start work in the reference week, but available to start work within four weeks; and

(ii)

discouraged jobseekers

as a percentage of the labour force augmented by (i) and (ii).

Family

Two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering; and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.

Persons employed full time are those employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

Full-time employees

For earnings data, full-time employees are permanent, temporary and casual employees who normally work the agreed or award hours for a full-time employee in their occupation and received pay for any part of the reference period. If agreed or award hours do not apply, employees are regarded as full-time if they ordinarily work 35 hours or more per week. See 'Full-time adult ordinary time earnings'.

Full-time workers

See 'Full-time employed'.

Fully engaged in education or work

People who, in the survey reference week, were in full-time work or in full-time education, or in part-time work combined with part-time education.

Household

A group of one or more persons in a private dwelling who consider themselves to be separate from other persons (if any) in the dwelling, and who make regular provision to take meals separately from other persons, i.e. at different times or in different rooms. Lodgers who receive accommodation but no meals are treated as separate households. Boarders who receive both accommodation and meals are not treated as separate households. A household may consist of any number of families and non-family members.

Impairment

In the context of health experience, an impairment is defined by the the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a loss or abnormality in body structure or physiological function (including mental functions). Abnormality is used to refer to a significant variation from established statistical norms.

Examples of impairment are loss of sight or a limb, disfigurement or deformity, impairment of mood or emotion, impairments of speech, hallucinations, loss of consciousness and any other lack of function of body organs.

Inner Regional

Inner Regional is a geographical category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Major Cities','Outer Regional', 'Remote' and 'Very Remote'.

Labour force

The labour force is the labour supply available for the production of economic goods and services in a given period, and is the most widely used measure of the economically active population. Persons in the labour force are classified as either employed or unemployed according to their activities during the reference week by using a specific set of priority rules.

Labour force participation rate

The labour force participation rate for any group within the population is the labour force component of that group, expressed as a percentage of the population in that group.

Labour force status

Labour force status is a classification of the civilian population aged 15 years and over into the labour force (those employed or unemployed) or into not in the labour force, as defined. The definitions conform closely to the international standard definitions adopted by the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians.

Labour force underutilisation rate

This is the sum of the number of persons unemployed and the number of persons in underemployment, expressed as a proportion of the labour force. See 'Unemployed' and 'Underemployed workers'.

Limitation

A person has a limitation if they have difficulty doing a particular activity, need assistance from another person or use an aid. See 'Core-activity limitation'.

Living in households

Includes those living in private dwellings, and some non-private dwellings such as motels, boarding houses and self-care units in retirement villages, but excluding cared accommodation (such as hospitals, nursing homes, aged-care hostels, cared components of retirement villages, and other 'homes', such as children's home).

Lone parent

A person who has no spouse or partner present in the household but who forms a parent-child relationship with at least one dependent or non-dependent child usually resident in the household.

Lone person

A person who makes provision for their food and other essentials for living, without combining with any other person to form part of a multi-person household. They may live in a dwelling on their own or share a dwelling with another individual or family.

Long-term health condition

A disease or disorder which has lasted or is likely to last for at least six months; or a disease, disorder or event (e.g. stroke, poisoning, accident etc.) which produces an impairment or restriction which has lasted or is likely to last for at least six months. Long-term health conditions have been coded to a classification based on the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10).

Long-term unemployed

Persons unemployed for 12 months or more. See duration of unemployment for details of the calculation of duration of unemployment.

Long-term unemployment rate

The number of long-term unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Major Cities

Major Cities is a geographical category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Regional' and 'Remote'.

Marginal attachment to the labour force

Persons who were not in the labour force in the reference week, wanted to work, and:

were actively looking for work but did not meet the availability criteria to be classified as unemployed; or

were not actively looking for work but were available to start work within four weeks or could start work within four weeks if child care was available.

The criteria for determining those in the labour force are based on activity (i.e. working or looking for work) and availability to start work during the reference week. The criteria associated with marginal attachment to the labour force, in particular the concepts of wanting to work and reasons for not actively looking for work, are more subjective. Hence, the measurement against these criteria is affected by the respondent's own interpretation of the concepts used. An individual respondent's interpretation may be affected by their work aspirations, as well as family, economic and other commitments.

Mild core-activity limitation

See 'Core activity limitation'.

Mobility

Mobility comprises the following tasks:

getting into or out of a bed or chair

moving about the usual place of residence

going to or getting around a place away from the usual residence

walking 200 metres

walking up and down stairs without a handrail

bending and picking up an object from the floor

using public transport.
The first three tasks contribute to the definitions of profound and severe core-activity limitation.

Moderate core-activity limitation

See 'Core activity limitation'.

Not fully engaged in education or work

Includes people who, in the survey reference week, were working part time (but not studying), unemployed (regardless of whether studying part time), studying part time (and not working) and not in the labour force (except those who were full-time students).

Not in the labour force

Persons not in the labour force are those people who, during the reference week, were not in the categories 'employed' or 'unemployed'. They include people who were keeping house (unpaid), retired, voluntarily inactive, permanently unable to work, in gaol, trainee teachers, members of contemplative religious orders, and persons whose only activity during the reference week was jury service or unpaid voluntary work for a charitable organisation.

One parent family

A family consisting of a lone parent with at least one dependent or non-dependent child (regardless of age) who is also usually resident in the household.

Outer Regional

Outer Regional is a geographical category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Major Cities', 'Inner Regional', 'Remote' and 'Very Remote'.

Own account workers

People who operate their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engaged independently in a profession or trade, and hired no employees.

Owner managers of incorporated enterprises (OMIEs)

People who work in their own incorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (also known as a limited liability company). These people are classified as employees under 'status in employment'. Technically they are employees, however, they are similar in characteristics to owner managers of unincorporated enterprises.

Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises (OMUEs)

People who operate their own unincorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity in which the owner and the business are legally inseparable, so that the owner is liable for any business debts that are incurred. Includes those engaged independently in a trade or profession. These people are classified as employers under 'status in employment' if their business has employees, or own account workers if they do not.

Participation rate

See 'Labour force participation rate'.

Part-time employed

Persons employed part time are those employed persons who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and either did so during the reference week, or were not at work in the reference week.

Part-time workers

See 'Part-time employed'.

Profound core-activity limitation

See 'Core activity limitation'.

Reason for leaving last job

Unemployed persons who had worked for two weeks or more in the past two years classified by whether they left that job voluntarily, that is, job leavers; or left that job involuntarily, that is, job losers.

Reference period

The reference period for earnings data refers to the last pay period ending on or before the third Friday of the middle month of the quarter. Where a pay period is fortnightly or monthly, etc., the employer is requested to report only one week's proportion. See 'Full-time adult ordinary time earnings'.

Reference week

Information from occupants of selected dwellings in the Labour Force Survey is obtained by specially trained interviewers, using face to face and telephone interview collection methods. Interviews are generally conducted during the two weeks beginning on the Sunday between the 5th and the 11th of each month. The information obtained relates to the week before the interview period, referred to as the 'reference week'.

The reference week is used to determine a person's employment status at a point in time.

Regional areas

Comprises the 'Inner Regional' and 'Outer Regional' categories of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Major cities' and 'Remote'.

Remote areas (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data)

Comprises the 'Remote' and 'Very Remote' categories of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Major cities' and 'Regional'.

Remote

Remote is a geographical category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Major Cities', 'Inner regional', 'Outer regional' and 'Very remote'.

Self care

This activity comprises the following tasks: showering or bathing; dressing; eating; toileting; bladder or bowel control.

Severe core-activity limitation

See 'Core activity limitation'.

Specific limitation or restriction

A limitation in core activities, or a restriction in schooling and/or employment. This corresponds with the concept of 'handicap' used in previous ABS publications on disability. See 'Core activity limitation'.

State capital cities

The areas determining the six state capital cities are the Statistical Divisions for those capital cities defined in the Statistical Geography: Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0).

Status in employment

Employed persons classified by whether they were employees, employers, own account workers or contributing family workers.

Underemployed workers

Underemployed workers are employed persons who want, and are available for, more hours of work than they currently have. They comprise:

persons employed part time who want to work more hours and are available to start work with more hours, either in the reference week or in the four weeks subsequent to the survey; and

persons employed full time who worked part-time hours in the reference week for economic reasons (such as being stood down or insufficient work being available). It is assumed that these people wanted to work full time in the reference week and would have been available to do so.

Underemployment rate

The number of underemployed workers expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Underutilisation rate

See 'Labour force underutilisation rate'.

Unemployed

Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and

had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week; or

were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Unemployment rate

The number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Usual hours worked

The hours usually worked per week by an employed person.

Very remote

Very Remote is a geographical category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. These categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre. For more information on the ASGC, see Statistical Geography Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), July 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). See also 'Major cities', 'Inner regional', 'Outer regional' and 'Remote'.

Volume of potential labour in the labour force

The volume of potential labour in the labour force is equal to the hours of labour sought by unemployed persons, plus the hours of labour preferred by underemployed workers (both utilised and unutilised), plus the hours of labour usually provided by employed persons who are not underemployed.

Volume labour force underutilisation rate

The total volume of underutilised labour in the labour force (hours sought by unemployed people, plus additional hours preferred by underemployed people), as a percentage of the volume of potential labour in the labour force.

Weekly ordinary time earnings

Weekly ordinary time earnings refers to one week's earnings of employees for the reference period, attributable to award, standard or agreed hours of work. It is calculated before taxation and any other deductions (e.g. superannuation, board and lodging) have been made. Included in ordinary time earnings are:

award, workplace and enterprise bargaining payments, and other agreed base rates of pay

over-award and over-agreed payments, penalty payments, shift and other allowances

commissions and retainers

bonuses and similar payments related to the reference period

payments under incentive or piecework

payments under profit sharing schemes normally paid each pay period

payment for leave taken during the reference period

all workers' compensation payments made through the payroll; and

salary payments made to directors.
Excluded are:

amounts salary sacrificed

non-cash components of salary packages

overtime payments

retrospective pay

pay in advance

leave loadings

severance, termination and redundancy payments, and

other payments not related to the reference period.
See 'Full-time adult ordinary time earnings'.

Unless otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia Licence together with any terms, conditions and exclusions as set out in the website Copyright notice. For permission to do anything beyond the scope of this licence and copyright terms contact us.